China’s tech giants are facing new anti-monopoly rules

CNI Desk: New anti-monopoly rules for China's tech giants were introduced on Sunday.

The guidelines, which formalise draft laws released in November, come as regulators try to crack down on anti-competitive behaviour.

The rules are aimed at stopping China’s e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com from abusing their dominant market position.

Specifically, the rules stop e-commerce platforms from forcing vendors to deal exclusively with them.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) wants to stop price-fixing, predatory pricing and unreasonable trading conditions.

There are also rules against restricting technologies and using data and algorithms to manipulate the market.

The guidelines will also apply to financial technology and payments companies such as Tencent’s WeChat Pay and Ant Group, Alibaba’s payments affiliate.